In this brief, authors Marybeth Mattingly, Andrew Schaefer, and Douglas Gagnon explore challenges and opportunities for youth in Southwestern (SW) Minnesota. They analyze data on various demographic, economic, educational, and social indicators to gain a better understanding of the circumstances youth face and the opportunity available in SW…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

Nearly 500,000 households in Minnesota include a parent or parents with at least one child age 12 and under. About three-quarters use some type of child care. The strength of the economy depends on families having high-quality, affordable child care, so parents can work and children have the early learning opportunities they need to perform better…

This report portrays various performance indicators that are intended to facilitate an assessment of the postsecondary education system in Minnesota. Descriptive statistics are presented for Minnesota and five other comparison states as well as the nation. Comparison states were selected according to the degree of similarity of population…

Stateline.org recently called this recession the worst in 50 years for state budgets. As has been the case in past economic downturns, higher education looks to be particularly hard hit. Funds from the American Recovery and Relief Act may have postponed some of the difficulty for many colleges and universities, but the outlook for public higher…

This report, the first in a series, presents the findings of a 1984 survey to identify the characteristics and problems of the Twin Cities (Minnesota) area's poorest families. Nine hundred and sixty-six low-income households, representing the poorest 20 percent of the population, were interviewed by telephone or in person. At the same time that…

This study examined the effects on low-income families of being on a waiting list to receive child care subsidies under the Minnesota Child Care Sliding Fee Program. It surveyed 270 randomly-selected families in Hennepin County who had been on the waiting list, 38 of whom had begun receiving assistance at the time of the study. It found that: (1)…

THIS REPORT, THE THIRD OF THREE REPORTS INITIATED BY THE MINNEAPOLIS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (YDP), DISCUSSES PATTERNS OF MOBILITY AMONG 798 SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS FROM 11 SELECTED ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. SIX OF THESE SCHOOLS WERE IN LOW-INCOME, HIGH-DELINQUENCY "TARGET" AREAS. FIVE WERE LOCATED IN MIDDLE-CLASS, LOW-DELINQUENCY AREAS AND…